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Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

HOW: There is no formal game library. Attendees bring whatever games they like and a borrower-lender matchup system is provided.

WHO: Anybody who wants to come. You don't need badge. The Cookie Brigade will be there.

This event is ALL AGES!! It's also FREE! And there are NO SIGNUPS!!! Just show up and have a great time. Feel free to bring your spawn, but remember that PAXers have filthy, filthy mouths and your wee ones may be subject to some exciting new vocabulary.

RULESTHE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: The Westin gives us this space for free. They are not obligated to host us and we make every effort to be good guests. We negotiate this every year in exchange for a good bar and restaurant take. It will be a little inconvenient since we'll be pretty far away from the bar and restaurant, but even so, please make every effort to purchase from the Birch Bar for food and drink this evening and encourage your tablemates to do the same.

- Please don't be an egregious douchebag. For example, one year in Seattle, some guy decided it would be a great idea to vape in the ballroom and the hotel manager came and had an unpleasant chat with me about it. This isn't your buddy's garage man cave, please act appropriately. We pride ourselves on being a responsible, self-policing community, so if you see someone acting inappropriately (smoking, vandalizing or just being a dick), it's a good idea to nicely recommend they knock it the fuck off before management does.

- Political arguments are included in the "don't be a dick" rule. If discussions at your table get heated, DROP IT. If your argument is emotional enough to get loud or disrupt the game or neighboring tables, you may be asked to leave. This isn't the place: take a break from all that shit for the night. We're all gamers here.

- Be Excellent to each other. We freaks and geeks can be a socially maladroit group, so if someone is shyly lurking by your table, invite them to join. Be patient, be nice. Please don't flip your table.

Food and Drink

DRINKS
- There will be a bar downstairs.
- Drinks can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs and taken downstairs.
- NO DRINKS CAN BE TAKEN OUTSIDE OF MJ O'Connor's. Please do not order drinks for takeout from them. (Their restaurant license is separate from the Westin and takeout cocktails are illegal).
- No outside boozes. Just don't.

FOOD
- There will be no table service.
- Food can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs. Please make every effort to order from them - I know it's pricey but it's how we pay for this space.
- No outside food please unless we hear otherwise closer to the event.
- The Cookie Brigade will have a table for dropoff and donations

HOW IT WORKS
1. The Cookie Brigade will be staffing the info table. Additional volunteer staffers are always needed, so step up if you want to take a shift for an hour or two that evening!
2. If you've got a game and are looking for players, put the box top of the game vertically on your table. This is the universal sign for "I don't care who you are, please join us"
3. If you're looking to join a game, look for vertical box tops.
4. We will have a hosted checkout system at the info table. You can drop off games to loan or borrow games there. If you're dropping off, I recommend doing this:

Weekend Gaming
The "Otis" meeting room will be open 24 hours all weekend for casual gaming. Please don't game in the lobbies or mezzanine; the hotel would like to keep those areas clear for the comfort of non-convention guests.

Never Been? Here's what you should know:

Pre-PAX Game Night at the Westin has been a tradition for 5+ years at East. Hundred seats are filled to bursting with players and boardgames of all sorts, and the event is one of the only all-ages, free-to-attend activities on Thursday night. Renting this space is cost prohibitive, so we've successfully negotiated with the hotels to give us space for free every year (no small feat).

You don't have to pay to get in, it's open to the public, all-ages, and people are really nice. It's a great way to come and kick off PAX with a massive group of friendly, like-minded PAXers and the selection of boardgames is mindblowing. You can bring your own, or find someone to borrow a game from. There is no central game library but lots of people bring private collections to loan out during the event while other folks prefer to set up a single game ahead of time that they bring. It's very free-form and is a completely volunteer, community run event.

I shall be there with the forum badges as always. I shall, however, not be there with my copy of Rising Sun as there is a lot to that game and the game mat is way to big to carry 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean!

Glad I found this! Community events at my last PAX 8 years ago are a large part of why I am returning from across the pond. Plus, travelling solo so this will be great to meet some peeps. Looking forward to more details!

So this year is the first year I'm attending the board game night because I finally got a hotel for the day before PAX and I'm super excited to go. Due to most of my friends not coming until Thursday I may have to attend alone. Are there generally spots open at tables, or are you mostly out of luck if you don't bring a group?

So this year is the first year I'm attending the board game night because I finally got a hotel for the day before PAX and I'm super excited to go. Due to most of my friends not coming until Thursday I may have to attend alone. Are there generally spots open at tables, or are you mostly out of luck if you don't bring a group?

This could actually be an advantage. I would imagine it's easier to fit one person into a game that already has a group looking for players than it is three or four.

So this year is the first year I'm attending the board game night because I finally got a hotel for the day before PAX and I'm super excited to go. Due to most of my friends not coming until Thursday I may have to attend alone. Are there generally spots open at tables, or are you mostly out of luck if you don't bring a group?

This could actually be an advantage. I would imagine it's easier to fit one person into a game that already has a group looking for players than it is three or four.

So this year is the first year I'm attending the board game night because I finally got a hotel for the day before PAX and I'm super excited to go. Due to most of my friends not coming until Thursday I may have to attend alone. Are there generally spots open at tables, or are you mostly out of luck if you don't bring a group?

This could actually be an advantage. I would imagine it's easier to fit one person into a game that already has a group looking for players than it is three or four.

Hi, I went last year alone and had no problems finding groups to play with. I played Dominion, Thunderstone, Secret Hilter, Sushi Go, Deception in HK, Codenames, etc. Enjoy. Maybe we can play a game together. :-)

So this year is the first year I'm attending the board game night because I finally got a hotel for the day before PAX and I'm super excited to go. Due to most of my friends not coming until Thursday I may have to attend alone. Are there generally spots open at tables, or are you mostly out of luck if you don't bring a group?

This could actually be an advantage. I would imagine it's easier to fit one person into a game that already has a group looking for players than it is three or four.

Hi, I went last year alone and had no problems finding groups to play with. I played Dominion, Thunderstone, Secret Hilter, Sushi Go, Deception in HK, Codenames, etc. Enjoy. Maybe we can play a game together. :-)

Awesome! That makes me worry much less. And I'd love to, I'm always down to play with new people. I'm not sure what games of mine I'll be bringing but I'm thinking Mysterium, Secret Hitler, and maybe a few others...stuff that's easy to just pull out and play basically. Thank you for the info!

I've heard nothing but amazing and fun things about Secret Hitler. Also, if Joust is back this year, I highly recommend getting involved in that. Lots of fun.

We will be bringing Joust again this year to Pre-PAX board night! We have a few more controllers this year, and a more varied music playlist

Need anything staged?

I'll check, but the last few years, we just set up on the left side of the room when you walk in, close to the front. It was away from the tables, and gave folks plenty of room to move around while Jousting Will likely set up after things quiet down a bit near the end of the evening, and after we play a few board games ourselves!